OMORI'S 42-10 KEEPS LEAD

While changing weather continued to confound many of the pros fishing in the Citgo Bassmaster Tour tournament on Lake Toho, Takahiro Omori kept cranking along.

The 2004 Bassmaster Classic champ maintained his lead in the season-opening event, catching a five-fish limit Saturday weighing 11 pounds, 5 ounces for a three-day total of 14 fish weighing 42-10 heading into today's final round.

David Walker of Sevierville, Tenn., who is seeking his first tournament title, remained in second at 37-0.

Gerald Swindle of Hayden, Ala., the 2004 Bassmaster Angler of the Year, had Saturday's biggest stringer at 12-4 and the biggest bass at 6-3 to move from ninth place into a tie for third with Ron Shuffield of Bismarck, Ark., at 33-10.

Jeff Reynolds of Platter, Okla., was fifth at 33-5. Terry Scroggins of Palatka was sixth at 32-14.

The field of 157 pros fished Thursday and Friday, with the top 12 fishing Saturday and the top six advancing to the finale. The angler with the heaviest four-day weight wins $100,000.

Omori, a native of Japan who lives in Emory, Texas, has been catching his best fish on a fast-moving crankbait in Lake Kissimmee, which is the southernmost lake in the Kissimmee Chain and is connected to Lake Toho by a series of canals.

He caught six keepers there Friday when skies were overcast, the wind was blowing and temperatures were cool.

Saturday was sunny in the morning and windy and overcast in the afternoon. Omori caught six fish right off the bat on the crankbait in Kissimmee and later caught two at Toho.

"I'm giving everything I've got," he said. "I'm fishing hard. I did all I had to."

Walker stuck with his pattern of flipping a plastic creature bait in Lake Toho to catch a limit weighing 11-8 Saturday.

Swindle has been catching his fish throwing a spinnerbait and a lipless crankbait in canals south of Toho.

Although he had Saturday's heaviest stringer and caught his big bass within the first 20 minutes on the spinnerbait, his day was a struggle. He didn't catch his fifth keeper until 30 minutes before he had to head back to Kissimmee's Lakefront Park for the weigh-in.

"I felt clueless out there," he said. "It was scary. They wouldn't bite. I've got a lot of things to figure out on the lake."